More Clocks and a “Tough Loss”
December 4th, 2008 by SBG
I never imagined when I started this little website that I'd be talking about babies and toddlers, but now that BabySBG is running the show, well, what else is there to talk about? So, here's a sleep report. BabySBG goes to bed every night at 8PM. The routine is as follows: about 6:30, I tell her that bedtime is about 1:30 away. Then, periodically until 8PM, I give her a status update (35 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.). I think this is wholly unnecessary now, but it's a vestige of the nighttime training that I put in place around her first birthday. When eight rolls around, I inform her that it's bedtime. She goes over to her mother, gives her a hug, and we head up stairs. Sometimes, she walks up to her room on her own, sometimes I carry her. Then, I take her to her rocking chair, sing her one song and then put her in her crib, put a blanket on her, say good night, and hopefully, I don't see her again until I get home from work the next night.
Well, as I pointed out yesterday, it doesn't always work that way. And last night was one of those nights. At 9PM, she started crying. I usually let her cry, but after a while, I will go in and settle her down. Well, I went in last night and -- of course -- she said "Clock!" when she saw me. I picked her up, held her for a minute and she was sound asleep. I didn't hear another sound the rest of the night.
I consider her to be a pretty good sleeper, but there was a time when she fought this a little bit (or more than a little bit). I had to work with her, learn what I could do to calm her down, apply my tricks as needed, etc. We had a fairly lengthy routine, but I slowly chipped away at it until we got to the point where the current routine is more of a few minutes for Dad to enjoy BabySBG before she goes to bed. Interestingly, she absolutely will not behave for my wife when she tries to put her to bed. Will NOT. I'm not sure why she is an absolute angel for me and some sort of terror for her mother. I'd like to think it's because I'm father of the year or something, but in actuality, I'd like to figure out a way to get her to respond to her mother better. Any thoughts?
-----
I watched a little bit of the Wolves game last night and it seemed like the Wolves were maybe going to hang in there, but while I was away for about a minute, the Magic went a very quick run and put the game away in the third quarter. I didn't see what happened, but I can about imagine -- the Magic pounded it in to Howard, who had his way with whoever was guarding him. The Wolves didn't protect the perimeter, leaving guys wide open. A quick look at the box score suggests that might be what happened. In 1:19 of game time, the Magic went on a 9-2 run. Two threes and a traditional three point play by Howard and the game was blown open. By the end of the third quarter, it was a 20 point game. The Wolves scored 39 points in the fourth to make it look relatively close, but this was a blowout. It's not that terribly surprising or disappointing -- this Orlando club is one of the better clubs in the league. They have better talent than the Wolves, they were at home, and after allowing the Wolves to hang in there for a while, they stuck it to the Wolves in the second half and turned it into a laugher.
I turned back to the broadcast after the game and heard possibly the worst play-by-play guy in the league, Tom "Battle Back" Hanneman, tell me it was a "tough loss" for the Wolves. Tough loss? They were never in the game at any point over the last 18 or 19 minutes. The outcome wasn't decided on a back breaker at the buzzer, it was decided midway through the third quarter. This was a game that everyone expected the Wolves to lose, and they did. Convincingly. Not only do the Wolves have a crappy product on the floor, they have a television crew, anchored by Hanneman, who are totally divorced from reality. It's hard enough to watch this club lose and lose and lose, but at least in the old days we had Kevin "No Regard for Human Life!" Harlan. I miss those days.
This entry was posted by SBG on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 at 7:38 am and is filed under Featured Articles. It is one of 2471 entries by the author. Feel free to write a letter to the editor if you are a registered SBG Nation Citizen. If you are not a Citizen, you can register here.
Loading ...
Rhubarb_Runner replied on December 4, 2008 at 9:30:48 am
Two suggestions:
Have you tried talking to BabySBG without entering her room? I was able to settle down my daughter sometimes by talking her through it when she was awake, and it empowered her to put herself back to sleep without physical intervention. Maybe ask her if her clock was still on the wall, and then ask her to close her eyes.
Also, try "supervising" when Lucy puts BabySBG to bed. If she's "misbehaving", you might remind her that she doesn't do this when you take her to bed.
Take it with a grain of salt, though -- this is from someone who would be awakened in the middle of the night by a young girl who had a bad dream, and at best gave a sympathetic, bleary-eyed, "You're alright now; go back to sleep." Of course, the only reason she came to my side of the bed in the first place was because I didn't jump a foot in the air when someone lightly tapped me on the shoulder, like the person on the other side of my bed did.
SBG replied on December 4, 2008 at 10:31:38 am
She's generally pretty good with sleeping at night. No real complaints. The problem is that she doesn't take naps very well when I'm not there. On weekends, I do the nap thing with her and she goes right down without a fight and sleeps for 2-3 hours. During the week when I'm not there, she'll resist a nap for hours.
Rhubarb_Runner replied on December 4, 2008 at 11:10:12 am
Perhaps a well-timed phone call to her, asking her if it's time to take a nap? Naps are a black art, and it's tough to know the right incantations. I happen to be an upper level mage, but my magic doesn't work on anyone else.
Beau replied on December 4, 2008 at 11:49:57 am
Kevin Harlan is one of the most entertaining announcers in sports. Now that he's doing national broadcasts he has to reel in the excitement a bit, but he's got a great voice and doesn't get in the way of the game. I'll watch a Bengals/Lions game if he's doing it.
AMR replied on December 4, 2008 at 11:51:58 am
If we have another, I might be out of luck... I can't remember much.
Things I do remember: since probably their first birthdays, both have had stories before naps and bedtime, although we're relaxing this for the 5yo who sometimes wants to keep watching tv or playing. For the 2yo, he wants his bedtime prayer at naptime, too. Until 2 1/2, each has had nightly baths immediately preceding bedtime.
I remember when the elder one was about 2, she would be awful at naptimes and bathtimes (but not bedtime). We got a timer, set it for one hour and she had to stay in bed that long or she would get post-nap timeouts. There was more to it, but I forget. For baths, I started talking about it right away when I got home and whether we would have a fun bath or a no-fun bath. Kindof like you and your 90-minute bedtime warning.
But much of what has worked for us comes down to
1. The Joe Morgan Axiom: Be Consistently Consistent.
And 2. The Aphex Twin Corollary: Start as You Mean to Go on.
brianS replied on December 4, 2008 at 12:52:48 pm
My first "solo" experience with The Boy consisted of him screaming his head off nonstop for about the entire 90 minutes or so that Mrs. S was out of the house. So, unlike you, I got "You Fial!" parental humility beaten into me from the get-go.
Rhubarb_Runner replied on December 4, 2008 at 1:14:43 pm
Runner daughter and I were/are like this (shows crossed fingers), but I was always disappointed that I was never the go-to person when she was distressed about anything. A gender thing, I'm sure.
AMR replied on December 4, 2008 at 4:05:45 pm
I'm the boy's go-to guy when he's in trouble. I think I'm softer on him than my wife because I think he's still little, even though he turns 3 on Monday.
SBG replied on December 4, 2008 at 1:30:07 pm
That was how my first solo went, too. I ate the humble pie for a long time until I stood up and took over the sleep thing. At first, she wailed like a banshee every night, but within a couple of weeks, she was well trained.
AMR replied on December 4, 2008 at 4:03:39 pm
I get bath/bed every night, and have for about 5 years now (C is 5 yrs 5 months), probably with about 20 times off.
6:30: start baths, jammies, teeth brush.
7:00: TV (usually "Good Eats" or Twins) or games or some cleaning.
7:30: H's story and to Bed.
7:50: C's story and to Bed.
8:00: AMR's beer.
SBG replied on December 4, 2008 at 4:20:37 pm
Wife gives bath and puts on jammies (to daughter). Daughter races to me with comb and tooth brush. I take care of those details. We spend about an hour together as a family playing, including reading books and roughhousing, general good stuff. Then, bed time is at 8PM.
brianS replied on December 4, 2008 at 5:28:55 pm
8:00: AMR's beer.
I now hate California public schools. The Girl has been indoctrinated by Big Brother that alcohol is a drug, and therefore Evil in all its incarnations and levels of consumption.
I am waiting to be denounced to the state authorities.
CarterHayes replied on December 4, 2008 at 9:19:40 pm
Do they have the Junior Spies out there yet?
brianS replied on December 4, 2008 at 10:22:50 pm
As she is nearly a teenager, I am perpetually accused of thoughtcrime.
E-6 replied on December 4, 2008 at 9:22:57 pm
Perhaps an intervention can be done on The Girl?
Big Mak replied on December 4, 2008 at 10:35:59 pm
I definitely went through that stage with my dad as well. I refused to take his beer cans out with the rest of the recycling as my form of civil disobedience.
Now I can just spin it that my objection was that he was drinking PBR and not something more worthwhile.
AMR replied on December 5, 2008 at 7:10:14 am
I'm sure that the kids have comfort with :
1) Adults responsibly drinking - I let my kids smell the beer or wine. H grabs my beer often for a sniff. I think they've both had tastes, but neither will take me up on taste offers any more. I do not offer them tastes of my sodas though, I figure they're too likely to like that and be offered by other grown-ups in the future.
2) Killing animals for food. If they know that cute cows, pigs, and deer are also tasty steaks, roasts, chops, and sausages from the get-go, I think they're less likely to have a vegetarian revelation.